The genus Cinnamomum

12 Economics and Marketing of Cinnamon
and Cassia – A Global View
M.S. Madan and S. Kannan
Introduction
Cinnamon (or true cinnamon or Sri Lankan cinnamon) is produced and exported from
Sri Lanka, Madagascar and Seychelles, while cassia cinnamons are produced and exported
from China and Vietnam (Chinese cassia), Indonesia (Indonesian cassia) and India (Indian
cassia) (Anon, 1995; Madan, 2001). Together cinnamon and cassia constitute important
spices that are traded in the international market and are used by people of many
countries. Official statistics on area, production and productivity of cinnamon from
producing countries are conflicting and are of doubtful reliability. For many countries
only the production figures are available. Further more, as in the case of FAOSTAT, the
available statistics do not distinguish between cinnamon and cassia, and provide data on
area, production and yield under a single crop head of cinnamon (canella). However, the
trade related figures are comparatively complete and make a distinction between cassia
and cinnamon. The U.N. Comtrade Database provides country-wise data the on import
of whole cinnamon and ground cinnamon listed separately (ITC, 2000). USDA/FAO
data sources provide export-import data for ground and whole cinnamon and cassia
separately. In both databases cinnamon and cassia are not differentiated. However, cassia
leaf oil and cinnamon bark oil imports are listed separately by USDA/FAO.
Despite certain limitations in the availability of data, this chapter makes use of the
time series data obtained from FAO, to analyse the trend in country-wise area, production
and export and import. The aim of this effort is to get some broad indications on
the possible changes that have taken place in the crop economy during the last three
decades since 1970–71, and future prospects based on observed trends.
As per the official statistics available from FAO (FAOSTAT) the world production of
cinnamon (canella) during 2000 was 90,213 from an area of approximately 132,970 ha
(FAO, 2000). Table 12.1 provides decade-wise (period) average production and their
percentage share in total world production. As can be seen from Table 12.1, during the
past three decades from 1971 to 2000, both area and production have increased slowly
but steadily.
Country-wise contribution to the world production over the period as presented in
Table 12.1 indicates that Sri Lanka, the traditional producer of cinnamon, contributed
about 39.3% of the total world production in the 1970s (period I). Its share came down
to 19.7% during period II (1980–90). Countries like Indonesia and China improved their
contribution from 30.7% and 21.7%, respectively, in period I to 40.3% and 32.9% in the
period II. Vietnam is the other country to contribute considerably to world production of
cassia cinnamon with an annual production of more than 4000 t in the recent past.
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© 2004 by CRC Press LLC